PEORIA - A pair of Peoria police officers pleaded not guilty to felony charges derived from an alleged drunken-driving crash in July that involved a city-owned vehicle.
Vice officer John Couve and patrol Sgt. Richard Glover appeared consecutively Thursday in front of Judge Steve Kouri in Peoria County Circuit Court.
Kouri assigned the men the same times and dates for their scheduling conferences and trials. The scheduling conferences are set for 10:30 a.m. Nov. 9, and the trials are set for the same time Nov. 19.
Neither Couve, whose case was heard first, nor Glover appeared to speak during their brief appearances, which took place about 1:15 p.m. and lasted a total of less than four minutes.
The crash took place July 8 in North Peoria. Subsequently, Couve was charged with three felony counts of official misconduct, one felony count of obstructing justice, one count of driving under the influence of alcohol, one count of reckless driving, one count of leaving the scene of a property damage accident and one count of texting while driving.
Glover was charged with two counts of official misconduct, one count of obstructing justice and one count of disorderly conduct. All are felonies. If convicted, both men would be prohibited from serving as police officers.
According to police reports, the 46-year-old Couve was driving an unmarked white sport-utility vehicle about 1:45 a.m. in the 8000 block of North Hale Avenue when he hit a power transformer. Police found the wrecked vehicle nearby, in front of Couve's house on MacTavish Road.
Glover, 40, is accused of relaying false information about the crash to an on-duty patrol officer.
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